Escaping Reality
by becca85
Summary: When Bhav wakes up in the Regency era of Jane Austen's creation, she discovers that she isn't just standing off in the background, but is an active participant in one of the greatest love stories of all time.


**A/N: This has the honor of the being the second fanfic story I've ever written, but in actuality, I wrote it at the same time as my first ever fanfic story. I just hopped back and forth between them until they were complete. I also must say that I am a huge P&P fan and an even bigger fan of the 1995 BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth as the sexy Mr. Darcy. So, it made it that much easier to write about.**

**As this was one of the first stories I ever wrote (when I took the hobby back up), it's far from being my best, but after re-reading it and finding very little to edit, I thought I would post it to see what kind of feedback I could get. I like to think my writing has improved significantly since this was completed.**

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own any of the characters or ideas created by Jane Austen and Andrew Davies (including dialogue borrowed from the 1995 TV serial). I borrowed them for the entertainment and amusement of my audience. ~*~ Additional disclaimer: I started writing this story long before I had even been made aware of the Lost in Austen novel/movie, so the strong similarities between these two was merely coincidental and unintentional.**

**SUMMARY: When Bhav wakes up in the Regency era of Jane Austen's creation, she discovers that she isn't just standing off in the background, but is an active participant in one of the greatest love stories of all time.**

**GENRE: Romance**

**RATING: PG**

**DEDICATION: To Bhav because of her passionate love for the story of Mr. Darcy. I did my best to bring her dreams to black and white and conspired to help her meet Mr. Darcy. Yes, this story was written as a gift to a friend.**

**DATE: August 31, 2009**

**::~*~::**

There were voices conversing downstairs. She was having a nice dream and didn't want to wake up, but she couldn't shut out the voices. She burrowed farther down into her bed sheets, pulled the pillow over her head and tried to drift back into that wonderful dream with the tall, dark and handsome man who had been speaking sweet words to her…

A few moments later, a noise outside the window caused her to bolt upright in bed. _Was that a horse she had heard? _She looked more closely at her surroundings and got the shock of her life. She wasn't in her own bed; she didn't even appear to be in her own room. It looked…old. Everything appeared to be wood paneled; the walls, the floor, the ceiling with its wooden beams. She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a long-sleeve, white cotton nightgown that went from her neck to her ankles. This wasn't right. Where was she? How did she get here?

She ran to the window to look out into the street. It wasn't so much what she saw in the street that frightened her, but the faint reflection staring back at her in the window. It was not her face. It looked vaguely familiar, but she was too worried about the fact that _it wasn't her face _to try and figure out why the face was familiar. Looking down on the street below from her second story window, she saw a cobbled and somewhat dusty road below upon which men on horseback and women in long old-fashioned dresses and horse-drawn carts were going about their business.

She spun around and searched for a door to get out of there. She spied two separate doors and she sprinted to the closest one. She pulled open the door and ran through only to come skidding to a halt. On the other side of the door, she came face to face with an older couple who appeared to have been eating but looked up from their meal at her entrance and now wore shocked expressions at her rather rumpled appearance.

As the gentleman turned his red face away from the women, the lady exclaimed, "Lizzy, what on earth is wrong? Why are you still dressed in your nightclothes? Is everything alright?"

_Lizzy? Why did they call me Lizzy? _Bhav thought, thoroughly confused now. She was about ready to ask why they were calling her Lizzy, when the lady stood up and, approaching her, took her arm and led her back into the bedroom. "Really, you don't look at all well. Perhaps you should go back to bed. We can send for the doctor, if you feel truly dreadful."

Bhav felt fine, with the exception of overwhelming confusion, and she thought, perhaps she should lie back down. It was entirely possible that she was dreaming. Maybe if she went back to sleep here, she would wake up back in her own bed in her own room. Yes, that sounded just…fine. She turned around and told the lady that she would lie back down and hopefully she might feel better soon.

"Your uncle and I will cancel our engagements for the day and stay here to care for you."

"Oh, no! That's not necessary. I'm sure a little bit more sleep will be sufficient for me to feel better. Thank you for your hospitality."

The lady gave her a warm smile and said, "Well, that's what family is all about. Taking care of each other when in need." She drew the curtains over the window, darkening the room and turned to face Bhav, who had climbed back into bed. "Rest now and we shall see how you fare in a little while." With that, she left the room. Bhav had just started meditating on the familiarity of the couple when she began to feel drowsy.

Bhav was just drifting off to sleep when a thought hovered at the edge of her mind. _The face reflected in the window, Lizzy, "her" aunt and uncle, this place? _Something was eluding her. She felt it should be so obvious, but, for some strange reason, it wasn't. A few moments later, she leapt out of bed as if she had been poked. _It couldn't be? Could it? Was it really―? _She pinched herself to see if she truly was dreaming. Nothing happened. She pinched herself again a little harder and still nothing happened. She went so far as to kick the bedpost to see if that would jolt her to wakefulness. Still she remained where she was, only now with a throbbing foot. _This couldn't possibly be real!_

She quickly went over to the other door in the room and cracked it open. It wasn't a closet like she had thought it was; it opened into a long, narrow hallway. She closed the door and turned back into the room and spied a trunk at the foot of the bed. Upon opening it, she found an assortment of clothing inside and decided to pull out a rusty brown traveling dress. She was about to go to the first door and ask if her aunt could assist her in dressing, when she stopped. She figured if she did that, her aunt might insist on her going back to bed. She looked hopelessly at the dress and other assortments of clothing laid out on the bed and tried to figure them out. She had never worn anything like this in her "real" life and had no idea how to go about dressing in this style. She shrugged her shoulders and decided to do her best.

Twenty minutes later she opened the door into, what she decided was, the sitting room. The gentleman and lady were now sitting in two upholstered chairs near the dark, cold fireplace. If she was where she thought she was, it should be the middle of summer now, and there was no need for a fire. The couple by the fireplace looked up as she entered and gave her warm smiles, though the lady had to hide a rather broad grin behind a hand. When she had composed herself, she looked up at Bhav in the doorway and asked her why she did not ask for assistance in getting dressed. Rather then feeling embarrassed, Bhav smiled broadly back and said that she was afraid her aunt would insist she return to bed, when it seemed to her that she had only suffered from a night terror and she only needed a few moments to compose herself before joining the company again.

The lady smiled and said that she would assist her in straightening out her clothing and fixing her hair, but first, she would ring for some food to be brought up for Bhav to eat. Before returning to her room, the gentleman asked Bhav how she would feel about touring a nearby house and its grounds. When she inquired after what house (though she secretly had a thought of which it was), the gentleman cast a sideways glance at his wife before turning back to Bhav and answered, "Pemberley."

Bhav thought she had died and gone to heaven. She had had a feeling that he was going to say that, but the simple fact that he had spoken it aloud, made it so much more real. Well, as real as it could be when she appeared to be trapped in the body of her absolute favorite literary heroine. She slowed her breathing and responded in a normal tone of voice, "That would be alright, I suppose." As badly as she wanted to go, she didn't think it would be in "Lizzy's" character to agree too readily.

It was all she could do to calmly eat her breakfast and sit still while her aunt fixed her hair and made the necessary adjustments to her attire. She found a mirror in the entryway of the inn downstairs and glanced into it. She felt a thrill go thru her when she saw not her own face staring back at her, but that of Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She hurried out the door behind her aunt and uncle and stepped up into the open carriage that would convey them to their destination. She was extremely anxious about this visit, but she knew she needed to appear as Lizzy would. It would not do to appear completely out of character. It could change the entire course of the story. It could change for the good, but there was also the risk of it being a change for the worst. Of course, this could be a very realistic dream and nothing life-altering would happen if she threw caution to the wind, but she had read a book recently where the heroine of the novel had found herself in the place of her favorite character in her favorite book and after enjoying herself thoroughly, found herself back in her real world with her favorite book completely altered for the worse because of her actions.

She looked at her uncle and asked, teasingly, whether they should reach the house before dark. As he was about ready to reply, they came out from behind a grove of trees they were traveling through, and there stood the house. It was a grand house, much larger then any Bhav had ever seen before. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared across the lake at this house; this house whose owner had filled many of her dreams back "home."

As they approached the house, her heart started beating faster and faster. When the carriage pulled up in front of the house, an elderly woman came out and introduced herself as Mrs. Reynolds. She asked them if they would like a tour of the house and then a tour of the grounds. Bhav was absolutely speechless, but her guardians nodded their approval.

As they made their way through the house, Bhav was lost in thoughts of what was to come. The housekeeper had mentioned that her master was expected the next day with a large party of friends, including his sister, but Bhav knew better. About thirty minutes after they had started their tour of the house, Bhav and her aunt and uncle found themselves being led down the gallery. As they approached the far end of the hall with the more recent portraits, Bhav needed know pointing out of the master's portrait to know which was his. She would recognize those dark penetrating eyes, set in a serious face, anywhere. She gazed up at the likeness before her for a full five minutes, before returning to her aunt and uncle who had just moved into the room beyond. Yes, he had appeared exactly as she had expected him to.

Shortly thereafter, the tour of the interior was concluded, and Mrs. Reynolds gave them leave to walk about the grounds, while she returned to her duties in getting the house prepared the master's arrival. She followed her guardians out the door they had entered through earlier and started off down the walk. She was an excellent walker, so she soon found herself far ahead of her companions. _This may be it. Any moment, I'm going to see him. I'm going to actually stand in his presence. _It was so much more then she could hope for.

Bhav was so lost in her thoughts of the upcoming meeting that she was inches away from walking directly into a figure that suddenly appeared around the hedge in front of her.

"Mr. Darcy!"

"Miss Bennet! I…"

"I did not expect to see you, sir." A small lie, for she knew he would be here, but she had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts of this very meeting, that she had almost walked right into him. A surprise to be sure. "We understood the family were from home, or we should never have presumed…"

Bhav was absolutely stunned. Here he was, dripping wet from his swim in the lake, and looking as smoldering as she ever thought he could be. It was all she could do to not faint dead away at his feet. She had to focus on his voice, as he was talking and she had missed what he said, but she knew word for word what he had just asked. She replied, "Yes, they are very well. I thank you, sir," in response to his inquiry regarding her parents' health.

"I'm glad to hear it." A pause. "How long have you been in this part of the country?"

She quickly racked her memory. _How long _had _Lizzy been in this part of the country? _"But two days, sir."

"Where are you staying?" he asked. She could tell he was really uncomfortable with the situation, especially as he was soaking wet. Bhav longed to tell him not to feel uneasy in her company, but that might be too forward for him. She decided to play it safe and continue the conversation as it should be.

"The inn at Lambton."

"Yes, of course. Well, I'm just arrived myself." He paused for a moment then looked at her again. "And your parents are in good health? And all your sisters?"

Bhav had to hide a smile at this repeated question. "Yes, they are all in excellent health, sir."

He looked at her one last time and, saying "Excuse me," he moved off up the lawn towards the house. Bhav spun around to watch him go and even after she lost sight of him around the corner of the house, she still saw him in her mind's eye. She stood there transfixed for some moments until she heard footsteps coming up the path. She started back up the grass to the path and appeared just a few yards down from where her aunt and uncle were walking. They asked her about the rather wet young man who they had seen cross the path a few moments before.

Remembering that Lizzy was not supposed to be seen pining after Mr. Darcy, especially after the incredibly awkward situation she had just found herself in, Bhav reluctantly resorted to the words she knew she was supposed to say. "We must leave here at once!"

Her aunt inquired worriedly after her meaning and whether everything was alright. Bhav shook off the questions and hurried up the path towards the carriage. In her haste to make sure that everything happened as it was supposed to, she failed to remember that she wasn't done meeting with Darcy. Needless to say, she was quite startled when he suddenly appeared at the carriage as she was getting ready to ascend into it.

Mr. Darcy was all politeness, asking after her impressions of the house and desiring to be introduced to her companions. She introduced her aunt and uncle Gardiner and then they all turned to walk down the path that ran alongside the house. Being young and having more energy, the younger couple soon found themselves some distance ahead of the older couple. As they walked, they spent most of the time in companionable silence, speaking here and there of inconsequential subjects. He mentioned that the Bingleys and Hursts were going to be arriving on the following day along with his sister, whom he wanted to make known to Miss Bennet. She readily agreed to making Miss Darcy's acquaintance. She felt a small twinge of regret, wondering whether or not she would even wake up tomorrow in this happy existence or whether she would find herself back in her own bed.

It was with the greatest pain in her heart that she bid farewell to Mr. Darcy as they were leaving Pemberley. She was not sure if she would see him again, except in her dreams. As the carriage moved down the gravel road, she turned in her seat to look back. He was standing there watching her with…adoration? longing?…in his eyes. She watched him until the carriage disappeared behind a grove of trees. She sighed as she turned around. She only hoped that someday she would find her own Mr. Darcy.

As she settled down into the carriage, she thought she saw a small glimmer of amusement pass over her aunt's face. It was of no consequence to Bhav. She knew that Mrs. Gardiner was a very perceptive woman, someone able to see what most others missed right in front of them. This recent bit of news that Bhav had given her would only help Lizzy and Darcy find true happiness. In just a few short months, Miss Elizabeth Bennet would be Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy.

When they arrived at the inn, Bhav slowly made her way up the stairs. She didn't want this day to end. In some small part at the back of her mind, she knew that when she went to bed this night, she would not wake up here. She would be home; back to reality. Her aunt seemed to sense her fallen spirits and did her best to cheer her niece up, but it appeared nothing worked. Of course in Mrs. Gardiner's mind, she supposed her niece to be a victim of heartache in regards to a certain young gentleman who lived not five miles away.

Bhav picked at her supper that evening, hardly eating a thing, but she managed to move enough of her food around her plate in order to give the impression that she had eaten more then she really had. Her aunt and uncle retired to some chairs near the window and were occupied with activities of their own; her aunt with needlepoint and her uncle with a newspaper. Bhav returned to her bedroom and found a book on a table by the bed. Picking up the book and turning it over in her hand, she saw the title of the book, Romeo and Juliet, the play written by William Shakespeare. She thought that it was a rather fitting story to read with the way she felt and so she decided to continue reading where Lizzy had left off.

She carried the book out to the sitting area and took a chair near the fireplace. She opened the book and started to read. It appeared Lizzy had just gotten to the famous balcony scene, so Bhav continued on from there. She got so caught up in the tragic love story of the hero and heroine that she lost track of time. When she finally looked up from her book, she discovered she was all alone in the room; her aunt and uncle having retired to bed some time ago.

She stifled a yawn and glanced at the clock on the mantle. It was almost midnight. She stood up and took a long look around her. How she would miss this place. She walked over to her room and quietly entered. She did not want to cause too much noise and wake her aunt and uncle. She quickly got dressed in her nightgown and climbed into bed. She took a look around this room, too, and tried to commit as much of the detail to memory as she could. Turning to the candle on the table, she leaned over and blew out the flame.

**::~*~::**

**A/N: This story was originally intended to be a one chapter long one-shot, but I tried to continue it on to see what would happen. While I did meet with mild success, it's been too long since I last worked on this story, that I am not sure if it will be worth it to continue. As of this moment, the story ends with "Turning to the candle on the table, she leaned over and blew out the flame." If I get back to this later in time, we'll see what comes of it.**

**The novel that Bhav is alluding to is "Seducing Mr. Darcy" by Gwyn Cready, a novel I have read the synopsis of, but not the actual story of. So, for all I know I can be completely off on the storyline. It's one of those grocery store steamy romance novels.**


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